Performing Arts Group Debuts Home Office Play
17 May 2012
On Thursday 17 May, Level 3 Performing Arts students at West Thames College debuted the ground-breaking play Talking to Shorty in the Endeavour Theatre.
The fifty-minute drama was devised by West Thames College lecturer Tristan Parkes and Cat Jones, senior manager for arts and media at HMP Prison Doncaster. It was commissioned by the Home Office to tour schools and pupil referral units in areas of London and Yorkshire where the pressure from gangs is at a high risk. The touring performance also includes a forum theatre debate and a workshop.
The performance by the West Thames College students was the play’s world premier and featured lyrics written by the students’ themselves as well as music composed by inmates of HMP Prison Doncaster.
Performing Arts student Laura Bennett played the role of Shorty. “The play focuses on the serious issues surrounding gang culture that many teenagers across the country have to face today. I think that the touring version will help lots of young people to understand gangs better and will hopefully help others make the right decisions about getting involved in crime and gang culture.”
See more images from the performance at Facebook.com/WestThames
